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Gujarat Titans edged past Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday night and, for at least a few days, sit on top of the IPL pile. The margin was big, the method familiar: Test-match lengths with the new ball, a captain happy to trust them, and a coach who keeps drumming the message in.
“Will make any captain [Shubman Gill] look amazing,” Ambati Rayudu quipped after watching Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj share the new ball, with Prasidh Krishna and Jason Holder following. Rashid Khan – hardly an after-thought – handled the spin. Rayudu’s tongue was in cheek, but the attack really does resemble a pick-and-mix of a modern Test XI.
Super Stat of the Day – Powerplay contrast
GT have conceded just 6.2 an over in the powerplay this season; SRH are up at 9.1. The gulf felt even wider under the Ahmedabad lights.
First the plan, then the credit
“I think you have to acknowledge the influence of Ashish Nehra on the bowlers that play under him,” Sanjay Bangar said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show once GT had resumed their place at No. 1. He rattled through the roll-call: Siraj’s early days in 2017-18, Rabada’s peak in 2019-20, Mohit Sharma’s revival last year, and now Holder.
“Somehow, he [Nehra] gets the best out of them,” Bangar continued. “I think his emphasis is on just try and bowl those Test-match lengths … an influence, which Ashish doesn’t get enough credit for, should be acknowledged.”
Inside the dressing-room the message is clear: fast bowlers are the heartbeat, even when Rashid is around. “That’s the advantage of having proper Test-match bowlers in your line-up, I guess,” reserve spinner R Sai Kishore observed at the post-match press conference. “Not depending on the slower balls or yorkers a lot, trusting that hard length … proper Test-match bowling, I think that has made a huge difference in the season for us.”
Gill’s growing comfort in the hot seat
Five wins on the bounce under Shubman Gill have turned a solid start into a surge. He is not a captain who waves arms every ball, more one who lets the plan breathe. Rayudu likes what he sees: “He was very, very good [against SRH]. He looks so sorted and settled as a captain to what…” Rayudu’s thought drifted, but the sentiment stuck.
Gill himself points to simplicity over sorcery: keep three fielders in catching positions early, hold a slip for longer than most T20 sides dare, and resist the urge to over-use variations until death overs loom. “We talk through the options before we get out there, then I try not to clutter the bowlers’ minds,” he said on the host broadcaster.
Why it works in Ahmedabad
The Motera surface has just enough pace and extra bounce to reward that Test length. Anything shorter sits up, anything fuller can be driven. Visiting sides often fall between the two stools. Holder, speaking after a tidy two-over burst in the middle, put it crisply: “You’ve a yard of cushion here; hit the deck and trust the big square boundaries.”
Room for improvement? Always
Titans still rely heavily on Rashid for control once the field spreads. If he has an off-day, the fifth-bowler quota can feel exposed. And while the top order keeps firing, the lower middle is yet to win a game from trouble. Gill knows it: “We’re not the finished article. We’ll need everyone, not just the quicks, when the play-offs come.”
But right now the philosophy is blooming: Nehra sketches it, Gill signs it off, and a group of quicks execute with minimal fuss. That mix – brains, belief, and a splash of raw speed – is enough to put Gujarat on top for another week, and maybe longer.
